Marcia Hutchinson is a British Jamaican author whose debut novel The Mercy Step has become one of the most talked about literary successes of the past year.
Published by Cassava Republic Press after 54 rejections, the novel went on to be shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, win the Discover Award at the British Book Awards and earn a place on the Observer’s best debut list for 2025.
Drawing on elements of Hutchinson’s own childhood, The Mercy Step explores domestic abuse, resilience, family and the refuge that books and libraries can offer a child in an unsafe world, all through the unforgettable perspective of seven-year-old Mercy. Hutchinson’s story also speaks to the persistence it can take to be heard, the barriers Black writers continue to face, and the possibility of beginning a new chapter later in life.
Please introduce yourself …
My name is Marcia Hutchinson. I was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in December 1962, which makes me a Sagittarius.
Describe your life currently, in one word or a sentence.
I am living my absolute best life in my 60s, happier than I have ever been.
Why are we here?
My debut novel, The Mercy Step, which has been over 10 years in writing, came out in July 2025. I didn’t expect much, but not only was it shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, but it also won the NIBbies (Discover Award) and was included on the Observer best Debut list for 2025. At a time when I expected to be retiring and winding down, my life is going in the opposite direction.
As an author in my head, I always have to extend gratitude to authors who actually get their stories out of their heads. How, or because of whom, or what time in your life pushed you to get this story out of your mind and onto pages for the world to read?
I’ve been thinking of writing this story for over 30 years, but I didn’t want to offend other people, and given that it deals with domestic abuse, I really fought with myself over whether I had the right to tell this story. The eponymous heroine, Mercy, is based on my younger self, and she became a real person in my head who kept pushing me to tell her story. Basically, I gradually realised that I would get no peace until I had written this book.
The big story around you and your debut is that you were rejected over 50 times before Black-owned Cassava Republic Press took a chance with The Mercy Step …
It was rejected 54 times, to be precise, and that was hard to take. I have to thank my agent, who just kept sending the book out again and again. She asked me if I wanted to see copies of the rejection letters, and I said yes because, this being my debut novel, I wanted to know how the industry works. What shocked me most of all was that nearly half of those rejection letters said it was a great book, well written, and that Mercy was a strong character; I therefore found it bizarre that they still didn’t want to publish it.
And to all the publishers who rejected you… Are you smug, indifferent, or angry?
A bit of all three. I have to say, when I stood on stage in front of nearly 2,000 people at the British Booksellers’ Awards on 11th May to accept the Discovery Award, I felt very smug as a lot of the people who had rejected the book were in the room. It was also a surreal moment being on stage at the Women’s Prize as one of the six best novels of the year. I was one of only two British authors; the other four were American, so Mercy the Mercy Step not only stood up against the best of British held its ground against the world.
Can you share some of the rejection feedback? What didn’t they get?
Below are just three of the rejections:-
“Marcia’s voice is singular, and in Mercy she has created an incredibly memorable character, into whose life we’re quickly drawn through her wide-eyed perspective on the world.”
“I so admire the ambition of her storytelling and the way she puts the reader into the mind of her narrator”
“Marcia has got such an amazing, distinctive storytelling style, full of verve and heart. I loved Mercy, her vulnerability and her courage and her fierceness.”
They knew it was a good book; it’s hard to say why they didn’t think they could sell it, but sadly I think race played a factor.
But we’re here now, and I have to say The Mercy Step is so immersive and brilliant. Tell us what The Mercy Step is about to you?
It’s about resilience. It’s about a little girl being able to tell her story and, for once, to be listened to and understood. It’s about hope and knowing that no matter what happens to you in life, you can recover.
And who is Mercy to you? Because this character is unforgettable. She attaches herself to your soul as a reader. I wanted to hug her, commend her, protect her …
Thank you so much; so many people said to me after they read the book that they just wanted to hug Mercy. She isn’t me, but she is based on my younger self. It is fiction rather than memoir because, although most of the incidents in the book really happened, I have changed some of the endings to give Mercy the power that I didn’t have at the time.
Why was Mercy’s perspective the one you chose for us?
Initially I wrote it in the first person, but that didn’t seem quite right. So I rewrote it in what’s called ‘close third person’ narrative. So the narrator is not inside Mercy’s head, but she is very, very close. Somehow it just seemed to work better this way.
I mistakenly spoke about this book saying it was set in the 80s. But that’s because I attached myself to Mercy. There’s a moment when, in a moment of crisis, she discovers the library is closed. It moved me to tears because, as a child, my local library and books in general were my safe space. What did libraries mean to you growing up?
Libraries were a sanctuary to me when I was growing up. But I knew I wanted to write this book from the perspective of a seven-year-old child rather than an adult looking back. When a child doesn’t feel safe at home and doesn’t always feel safe at school, a library provides that third space. It wasn’t until I wrote the book that I realised just how important libraries had been to me as a child.
The nuanced way you show Jamaican culture, the broader Caribbean culture, British culture and society without being explicit or on the nose … the world is just ‘is’ … there’s little to no room to contest … we believe and easily relate to this world … how did you navigate this – and how did you keep it so authentic?
I wish I could give you an answer to this question, but if I’m honest, I just don’t know. I just use myself as the vehicle through which Mercy could tell her story; I saw the world through her eyes. I didn’t make a conscious decision to show culture in a particularly nuanced way. At times it was almost like a séance. I asked little Mercy what she wanted to tell the world and wrote down what she told me.
The beautiful yet painful relationship between Mercy and her mother – when it comes to this cord between them that is at times taut, but then lax to frayed … I don’t think I’ve ever read a description of a mother-daughter relationship in this way before … please expand on how you built this narrative?
Again, I didn’t consciously build the narrative. I simply went back in time and described what Mercy saw. The umbilical cord metaphor came from somewhere unconscious. But my editor encouraged me to expand on that theme, and it became a leitmotif throughout the novel that so many readers have commented upon.
And then the painful, tenuous relationship between Mercy and her father and pretty much all the men in this world … were you ever concerned with negative reactions to men we can identify with but yet with the sensitivity around critiquing our parents, or black men and how people may feel about the male characters – especially her father?
Very much so, and that is one of the reasons it took me so long to write the book. I didn’t want to portray all the men in Mercy’s life in a negative light. But the more I wrestled with this question, the more I felt the need to tell the truth. If I’m honest, much worse happened to me than explored in the book, but I had to tone things down and add humour wherever I could so as not to depress the reader too much.
The reception to The Mercy Step has been overwhelmingly positive. How does that make you feel, and what’s been the most impactful feedback?
At a book launch in Manchester, not one, not two but three black women came up to me afterwards, all in tears. Two of them told me that Mercy reminded them of their childhood, but the third one said she was the mother in the book, and that her own children sat her down and told her to leave her abusive husband, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. So many people, mainly women, tell me that the book has allowed them to feel seen and allow their story to be told.
Who are the people you lean on when writing?
I go to Identity, a writing group in Manchester set up by Culture Word (formerly known as Common Word). That is my writing home. Peter Kalu, who has been with the organisation for 30 years and has just retired, told me for years that ‘Mercy is the one, I’m telling you, it’s the one,’ but I didn’t believe him. My agent Carla Briner actually signed me on a completely different novel. I sent her the first few chapters of The Mercy Step. At that point I had about 10 chapters, and she persuaded me to finish the book. I won’t say she held a gun to my head, but she persuaded me that the book was worth finishing. The third person is Russ Litten my tutor on an Arvon course. He absolutely raved about The Mercy Step and actually introduced me to my agent.
What did you find most challenging?
Because I came to creative writing late in life after having done many other things, including having been a solicitor, a community organiser, an educational publisher, and a local councillor, I saw myself as a jack of all trades and master of none. I thought writing would just be my latest hobby, so it took a long time to really believe in myself, and the people above helped me to do that. Taking myself seriously as a writer took years.
What did you enjoy or connect with most easily whilst writing this story?
Writing the story was an emotional roller coaster; there were times when I had to stop and cry. And whilst I won’t say I enjoyed that, afterwards I felt somehow cleansed. But I loved it when I could find funny moments amongst the pain.
Being a Black author in this current climate is like?
It’s easy to get downhearted because Black writers are not given the same opportunities as white writers, and even when their writing is of an acknowledged superlative level, the many gatekeepers choose not to get behind them. Without serious marketing, it’s very hard to get a book noticed no matter how good it is.
Three tips for writers:-
- It’s never too late to start. In fact, writing as an older person means I have a lifetime of experience to draw on
- There is no correct way to write; experiment until you find what works for you. In fact, I don’t even write; I dictate my first drafts straight into Google Docs whilst walking in my local park.
- Don’t take other people’s critique to heart. If you disagree with it, find other people who support you. I would not have finished my novel if I hadn’t found my tribe.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU …
If not this, then what? I’m very much a multi-hyphenate. I’m a qualified solicitor, was a local councillor, ran my own educational publishing company (for which I was awarded an MBE in 2011), and I also teach fitness classes, Zumba, spin yoga and weight training.
What’s made you sad, mad, and glad this week? Sad: the death of Dolly Parton. She lived life on her own terms and did so much for
so many people. Mad: the fallout from the death of Dr Jason Arday, and all the media outlets desperately backtracking and trying to wash his blood off their hands. Glad: Continuing to take time out to rest and not push myself too hard.
What are you reading? The Shipikisha Club by Mubamga Kalimamukwento.
The last film you watched? The Odyssey.
The last play you saw? Hamilton.
The last live music event you attended? Femi Kuti (son of Fela) at Manchester University.
What’s currently on your music playlist? Fantasy by Mariah Carey, but I tend to listen to music I can choreograph for my dance classes.
Which song are you listening to on repeat at the moment? Tupac Shakur – How do you want it?
Which podcast(s) are you currently listening to? The Oprah Podcast and Always Take Notes.
What’s on your bucket list? To visit Brazil.
Where’s your happy place? In the gym teaching a Zumba Class.
Celebrate yourself? I’m proud of never giving up, of being fit enough at 63 to teach a dozen fitness classes a week as well as write novels.
What’s next? I’m writing Mercy Book II; I also have about three other novels on the go at the same time.
Where can we find you?
Linktree / Facebook / X / Instagram / Bluesky: @mhut25.bsky.social / YouTube: @marciahutchinson145 / TiktokSubstack
@couchtonovel / Threads: @marxia1.